Dead in the Water
by Dede42
Summary: Something in the water of a local lake is making people disappear and are causing mysterious drownings that are connected to two families. Can Sam, Liz, and Dean stop the evil before it can claim anymore lives? Stay tune and find out!
1. Chapter 1: Purely Drownings

Supernatural: Dead in the Water

A/N: Well.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

**CHAPTER ONE: PURELY DROWNINGS?**

Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin…

CARLTON RESIDENCE…

Bill Carlton was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. His son, Will Carlton was sitting on the counter eating cereal when his daughter, Sophie, entered the kitchen.

"Morning Daddy," she said, kissing him on the cheek before moving to get something out of the refrigerator.

"Morning, sweetheart," Bill responded, turning a page of the newspaper.

"All these workouts, Sophie, I don't know," said Will in a teasing manner. "Guys don't like buff girls."

Sophie rolled her eyes as she faced her brother. "Yeah," she said, "well, girls don't like guys who still live at home."

Will scoffed and jumped off the counter. "Ha, ha, ha," he dead-panned and put his bowl and spoon into the sink.

"Ha, ha," Sophie echoed and opened the door to leave.

"Be careful," Bill told her.

Sophie smiled. "I will." She went outside.

LAKE…

Sophie took off her jogging suit to reveal a white two-piece underneath, stood on the edge of the pier for a moment, and then dove into the water. There was some distorted whispering, so she resurfaced and looked around for the source. When she didn't see anyone, she continued swimming. After about a minute, there came the strange distorted whispering again, so Sophie stopped and looked around again, feeling scared. Just as she decided it was time to turn back to the shore, she was suddenly pulled down, leaving bubbles on the surface for a few seconds and then nothing.

Sophie Carlton was gone without a trace.

DINER…

Liz and Dean were seated at the counter, where she was finishing her coffee, and he was circling pictures in a newspaper, and scribbling out ads.

A waitress walked up to collect the dirty dishes. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked, and Dean looked up and smiled at the "hot blonde" who was their waitress.

Just then, Sam walked up and sat down. "Just the check, please," he requested.

"Okay," said the waitress and she walked away.

Liz snickered while Dean hung his head for a moment and then gave their younger brother an exasperated look. "You know, Sam," he said, "we _are_ allowed to have fun once in a while." He pointed to the waitress in short shorts, who was walking into the kitchen. "That's fun." He then handed Sam the newspaper he'd been circling. "Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, 18, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water — nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago," he added.

"A funeral?" Sam repeated, surprised.

"They buried an empty coffin," Dean explained. "For uh, a closure or whatever."

"A closure? What closure?" Sam asked, exasperated. "People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them."

"Something you want to say to me?" Dean asked, frowning at Sam's tone of voice.

Sam sighed. "The trail for Dad… it's getting colder every day," he confessed.

Dean rolled his eyes while Liz sighed, seeing where this was heading. "Exactly, so what are we supposed to do?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "Something, anything."

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude," Dean snapped. "You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do?"

"Because we _do_, Sam," Liz added, also fed up, "so grow up and stop complaining."

Sam stared at Dean and Liz, surprised by their reactions. He opened his mouth, although he wasn't sure what he was even going to _say_, but Dean cut him off.

"Liz and I are the ones who've been with him every single day for the past two years," he said seriously, "while you've been off to college, going to pep rallies or whatever." He stared at Sam. "We _will_ find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?"

Just then, the waitress walked by again, distracting Dean. "All right," Sam sighed, resigned to the situation, "Lake Manitoc. Hey!" He snapped his fingers to get his brother's attention back.

"Huh?" Dean asked, wincing when Liz clocked him up the side of his head with her hand. "Ow!"

"How far?" Sam asked, tapping the newspaper.

LAKE MANITOC…

Several hours later, Sam, Liz, and Dean drove into the small town, passing a sign that said, "Welcome to Lake Manitoc, WI." They pulled up to the cabin, got out of the car, and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Sophie's brother answered it.

"Will Carlton?" Dean asked.

Will nodded. "Yeah that's right."

Dean pulled out a fake id and held it up. "I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Clint, and Agent Hamill," he said, nodding to Liz and Sam. "We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service."

Will led the three Winchesters out back by the lake, where Sophie's father was sitting on a bench on the dock in the distance.

"She was about 100 yards out," Will explained, clearly still shaken by the experience of losing his sister like that. "That's where she got dragged down," he added.

"Are you sure she didn't just drown?" Dean asked.

Will nodded. "Yeah," he said. "She was a varsity swimmer, she practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub."

"So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Sam asked.

"No, that's what I'm telling you," said Will.

"Did you see any shadows in the water?" Sam inquired, trying to figure out what they were dealing with. "Maybe some dark shape breaching the surface?"

Will shook his head. "No. Again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean asked.

"Or anything unusual that didn't seem to belong?" Liz added.

"No, never. Why? What do you think's out there?" Will asked, confused by the line of questioning.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do," Dean assured them and then turned to walk back toward the car with Liz.

"What about your father?" Sam asked, causing both Dean and Liz to stop. "Can we talk to him?"

Will turned to look at his father, who was still sitting on the bench on the dock. "Look," he said after a moment, "if you don't mind, I mean… he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

Sam nodded; it had been worth a shot. "We understand." And they went to the car.

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" the local sheriff, Jake, asked of the Winchesters.

"You sure it's accidental?" Sam asked. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what?" Jake asked as they walked into his office, and he motioned to a chair. "Here, sit please," he requested. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster."

"Yeah," Dean laughed, "right."

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks," Jake explained. "Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird, though, I mean that's… that's the third missing body this year," Dean pointed out.

"A sonar sweep should've revealed the location of any of the bodies," Liz added, surprised that the bodies hadn't been found.

"I know," Jake sighed. He couldn't figure out how or why the bodies weren't showing up and it was clearly bothering him. "These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

Dean nodded, relating too well with the frustration. "I know."

"Anyway." Jake sighed again. "All this… it won't be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"Well the dam, of course," Jake said, surprised that they didn't know.

"Of course… the dam," Dean stammered. "It's uh… sprung a leak."

"It's falling apart, and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway," Jake complained. "In another six months there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that," he added, eying them suspiciously now.

"Exactly," Dean agreed, mentally kicking himself for not doing a full background check of the area first.

Before things could go downhill, a woman, Andrea, tapped on the door. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" she asked, peering inside. "I can come back later."

Jake stood and nodded to her. "Gentlemen, miss, this is my daughter," he said, now smiling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean," sand Dean, shaking her hand.

Andrea smiled. "Andrea Bar. Hi," she said with a smile.

Dean grinned. "Hi."

"They're from the Wildlife Service about the lake," Jake informed her.

"Oh," said Andrea, and a small boy walked in from around her.

"Oh, hey there," said Dean, after being elbowed by Liz. "What's your name?"

The boy stared at him for a moment and then walked away without speaking, and Andrea followed him.

Jake sighed, watching the boy. "His name is Lucas."

Lucas and Andrea went to a table in the other room, and she was giving him some crayons out of a box.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked.

"My grandson's been through a lot," Jake explained. "We all have. Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

He led the four of them out of the office and went over to where Andrea and Lucas were.

"Thanks," Dean said. "You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced hotel?"

"Lakefront Motel, go around the corner, it's about two blocks south," Andrea informed them.

"Two… would you mind showing us?" Dean requested, making both Liz and Sam sigh with exasperation at his flirting attempts.

Andrea laughed. "You want me to walk you two blocks?" she asked.

Dean smiled. "Not if it's any trouble."

"I'm headed that way, anyway," Andrea admitted and turned to her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three," she told him and then bent down next to her son. "We'll go to the park, okay sweetie?" she added and kissed him on the head.

Dean waved as they left, and Jake nodded at them.

"Thanks again," Sam added.

"So… cute kid," Dean ventured. Liz couldn't decide if it was a bad pick-up line or if her twin honestly thought the boy was cute. He was, of course, but with Dean, you could never be too certain.

Andrea smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Kids are the best, huh?" Dean added, and both Sam and Liz were now stifling their laughter. Definitely pick-up lines, Liz decided.

Andrea ignored his comment, and they walked a bit farther. "There it is," she announced. "Like I said. Two blocks." And right in front of them was a building that said, "Lakefront Motel".

"Thanks," said both Sam and Liz.

Andrea smiled at them and then turned to Dean. "Must be hard with your sense of direction," she commented. "Never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line. Enjoy your stay!" and she walked away.

"Ooh, burn!" Liz teased, earning a death glare from Dean.

"'Kids are the best'?" Sam repeated, amazed. "You don't even like kids."

Dean glared at them both. "I love kids."

"Name three children that you even know," Sam requested.

Dean tried to think, Liz laughed, and Sam waved his hand in that "forget you" manner, and they walked into the motel while Dean scratched his head.

"I'm thinking!" he shouted as he followed them in.

Sam was doing some researching on the laptop while Liz was looking through a book, and Dean was deciding whether he needed to clean any of his clothes or not.

"So, there's the three drowning victims this year," said Sam, pulling up information.

"Any before that?" Dean asked, sniffing one of his shirts and making a face at the smell._ 'I definitely need to do some laundry while we're in town.'_

"Uh, yeah… six more spread out over the past 35 years," Sam confirmed. "Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."

"So what, we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean asked.

Sam wasn't so sure. "This whole lake monster thing… it just bugs me."

"Same here," Liz agreed. "If it's your typical lake monster, then there should be remains… but here we've got zip."

Dean didn't understand what they were getting at. "So what?"

"So, Loch Ness, uh Lake Champlain," Sam explained. "There are literally _hundreds_ of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing. Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it."

Dean pointed to the web page Sam had up, recognizing a name. "Wait, Bar, Christopher Bar," he said. "Where have I heard that name before?" he wondered.

Sam read from the web page. "Christopher Bar, the victim in May," he said and opened a link for more information. "Oh… Christopher Bar was Andrea's husband. Lucas' father. Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned, two hours before the kid got rescued. Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out," Dean remarked. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

"Yeah," Liz agreed softly.

Andrea was sitting on a bench at the park and keeping an eye on Lucas, who was kneeling in front of another bench and drawing.

Sam walked up to her with Liz and Dean. "Can we join you?" he asked politely.

Andrea looked up at him, surprised. "I'm here with my son."

"Oh… Mind if we say hi?" Dean offered and both he and Liz walked over to Lucas, leaving Sam and Andrea by the bench.

Andrea watched them go and then turned to Sam. "Tell your friend the whole "Jerry Maguire" thing's not gonna work on me," she suggested.

Sam resisted the impulse to chuckle as he sat down next to her. "I don't think that's what this is about," he stated.

Dean and Liz both wandered over to Lucas. "How's it goin'?" he asked, kneeling down in front of the bench that Lucas was coloring on and had some toy soldiers set up. Dean grabbed one of the toy soldiers. "Oh, I used to love these things," he said fondly and made gun sounds and explosions, and threw the toy soldier down after pretending it was shot. Liz chuckled. "So crayons is more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Of _course_."

Dean ignored her and look at the pile of papers Lucas had colored; the first one was a huge black swirl; the next one was a red bicycle. "Hey these are pretty good. You mind if I sit and draw with you for a while?" he asked, picking up a crayon. "I'm not so bad myself," he added as he sat on the bench and picked up a pad of paper.

"You know," he said after a moment, "I'm thinking you can hear me; you just don't wanna talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad."

Lucas continued coloring. "I think I know how you feel," Dean continued. "When I was your age, Liz and I both saw something…" He trailed off and Liz bit her lip, knowing exactly what Dean was talking about. She knew Dean better than anyone, knew that, deep down, he was just as emotionally vulnerable as Sam was, as _she_ was, but he couldn't show it. In fact, she wasn't certain he even knew _how_ to show it anymore, so the fact that he was trying to put himself out there for Lucas…

Dean abruptly cleared his throat. "Anyway… Well, maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or uh… or believe you. I want you to know that Liz and I will. You don't even have to say anything, you could draw us a picture about what you saw that day with your dad on the lake." Lucas kept coloring and never looked up. "Okay, no problem. This is for you."

He then showed Lucas the picture he drew. "This is my family," he explained, pointing to the stick people he'd drawn. "That's my dad. That's my mom. That's my geek brother, and that's me and Liz, we're twins." Liz saw the small smile that cross his face before it was gone. "All right," he said with a small laugh, "so I'm a sucky artist. I'll see you around, Lucas." He got up, put the pad down, and both he and Liz walked back to Sam and Andrea. They didn't see it, but after a moment, Lucas put down his crayon and picked up the picture to look at it.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me," Andrea told Sam as both Dean and Liz walked up. "Not since his dad's accident."

"Yeah we heard. Sorry," said Dean and Liz nodded.

"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked.

Andrea shrugged. "That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress."

Sam nodded, thinking. "That can't be easy, for either of you."

"We moved in with my dad," Andrea explained. "He helps out a lot. It's just… when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…"

"Kids are strong," Dean said reassuringly. "You'd be surprised what they can deal with."

'_Yes, you would,'_ Liz thought to herself.

Andrea smiled sadly. "You know, he used to have such life," she commented. "He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there, drawing those pictures, playing with those army men… I just wish —" Just then, Lucas walked up. "Hey, sweetie."

Lucas didn't say anything, never even looked up, but he did hand Dean a drawing.

Dean was surprised, but he carefully took it from the boy's hand. "Thanks… Thanks Lucas." And Lucas walked back to the table.

CARLTON RESIDENCE…

It was nighttime now, and Bill was sitting on his chair watching TV when Will popped his head in the living room.

"Hey Dad, you should probably eat something," he said, concerned for his father's wellbeing. Bill didn't respond. "I'm gonna make some dinner, okay?"

Again, no response from his father. He sighed and went into the kitchen.

Will went down into the basement and stood at the sink, washing a knife to cut a vegetable with. Once the knife was cleaned, he began cutting the vegetable without bothering to turn the water off. Suddenly, the water turned a brownish color. Will looked over, saw this, and turned the water off. Seconds later, a bunch of black water came bubbling up through the drain and filled the sink, followed by a mysterious whispering.

Grimacing, Will pulled the sleeve of his shirt up and reached his arm down the sink to pull the drain; after feeling around a bit, he pulled the plug up, but the water still didn't drain. Will stuck his arm back in the water, feeling around for whatever was causing the clog, when it was suddenly grabbed. He was pulled face-first into the sink, where he struggled against the strange force, but he couldn't pull free, and he drowned. After a few seconds, the water receded, leaving Will dead, drowned in his own home.

AN: Eek! I just scared myself again. R&R everyone!


	2. Chapter 2: A Possible Connection

Supernatural: Dead in the Water

A/N: Happy new year! I meant to post yesterday, but I was too busy with my family and celebrating, but here I am; also I'd love to get some reviews now and then, I like knowing what others think about my fanfics, I won't stop updating if I don't get any, but I still like to know.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: A POSSIBLE CONNECTION**

MOTEL ROOM…

The next day, Sam opened the door and came into the room, having just run an errand. "So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie," he announced grimly, and sat down next to Liz and Dean on one of the beds.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I just drove past the Carlton house," Sam explained. "There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

"He drowned?" Dean asked, stunned, and Liz gasped, covering her mouth with her right hand.

Sam nodded. "Yep, in the sink," he added.

"What the hell?" Dean wondered, confused. "So you're right, this isn't a creature; we're dealing with something else."

"Thought so," Liz agreed, not thrilled that she was right. "No one just _drowns_ in a sink."

"Yeah, but what could do that?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Dean admitted. "A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water… water that comes from the same source."

Sam's eyes widened, realizing the same thing. "The lake."

"Yeah," Dean agreed grimly.

"Oh god," Liz gasped.

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count," Sam said, thinking. "The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time."

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere," said Dean. "This is gonna happen again soon."

"And just about every building gets its' water from the lake, so just anyone can be a target," Liz added, shivering.

"Not just anyone," Sam said. "This has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

Dean moved from the bed to a nearby chair and pulled his shoes on. "Yeah, It took both his kids."

"And I've been asking around," Sam added. "Lucas' dad, Chris… Bill Carlton's godson."

Dean nodded. "Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."

* * *

CARLTON RESIDENCE…

Bill was sitting on the bench on the dock at the lake again, and Sam, Liz, and Dean walked up to him.

"Mr. Carlton… we'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind," Sam requested.

"We're from the Department…" Dean began.

"I don't care who you're with," Bill interrupted, not looking at them. "I've answered enough questions today."

"Your son said he saw something in that lake," said Sam. "What about you? You ever see anything out there?" He got no response. "Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death… we think there might be a connection to you or your family," he added.

"My children are gone," Bill said sadly, looking at them for a moment before turning away. "It's… it's worse than dying. Go away… please."

On the way back to the car Sam. Liz, and Dean talked.

"What do you think?" Sam asked.

"I think the poor guy's been through hell," Dean admitted. "I also think he's not telling us something." He then looked up at the house, and so did Liz, and both stared as they realized something.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Huh. Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something," Dean remarked, sharing a bemused look with Liz as he pulled out the picture of the house Lucas had drawn for them yesterday, which resembled the Carlton's house.

* * *

BAR RESIDENCE…

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea," Andrea protested.

"We just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes," Dean requested, having made the drive to the house, positive that Lucas could help again.

"He won't say anything, what good's it gonna do?" Andrea asked, uncertain.

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt," Sam explained. "We think something's happening out there."

"My husband, the others… they just drowned," Andrea told him, frustrated. "That's all."

"If that's what you really believe then we'll go," Dean told her. "But if you think there's even a _possibility_ that something else could be going on here, please let us talk to your son."

A short while later, Andrea lead them up the stairs to her son's bedroom, where Lucas was playing with his toy soldiers and coloring in his room. Dean, Liz, Sam, and Andrea all walked to the doorway, but this time, only Dean walked into the room.

"Hey Lucas. You remember me?" Dean asked, and he crouched down and saw that Lucas had colored two more pictures of a red bicycle. "You know, I, uh… I wanted to thank you for that last drawing… but the thing is, we need your help again," he explained while Lucas was coloring something that looked like a person in water. Dean unfolded the drawing of the house Lucas had colored for them, and set it down in front of him. "How did you know to draw this?" he asked, sitting down. "Did you know something bad was gonna happen?"

Lucas continued drawing silently. "Maybe you could nod yes or no for me," Dean tried, starting to feel a little desperate. "You're scared. It's okay, I understand. See, when Liz and I were your age, we saw something real bad happen to our mom, and we were scared, too."

He broke off and Liz closed her eyes, remembering flashes of fire, their dad screaming their mom's name, the heat, the absolute terror… She moved into the room and sat down next to Dean. "We didn't feel like talking," she said softly, placing a hand on Dean's shoulder, "just like you. It was so much easier to stay silent, to try and never think of what happened."

She glanced at Dean and swallowed hard at the emotions in his eyes. "But our mom," Dean finally said, "I know she wanted us to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe… your dad wants you to be brave, too."

"We _both_ do our best to be brave," Liz added quietly as she stared at Dean, fully aware that what they were saying was getting to Sam, too. It suddenly hurt her to realize they had never talked about their mom like this to him. He still knew so little of her…

Lucas dropped his crayon and looked up at Dean and Liz. Then he handed them a picture of almost a whole town, with a church, a house, and a boy with a red bicycle.

Dean took the picture and smiled. "Thanks, Lucas." And in the doorway, Andrea exchanged an amazed expression with Sam.

* * *

IMPALA…

Dean, Liz, and Sam were in the car, trying to find the scene Lucas drew.

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died," Dean remarked.

"There are cases going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies," Sam said, examining the drawing.

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean asked, considering the possibility. "I mean it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns. If you got a better lead, please."

Sam nodded. "All right… we got another house to find."

"The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone," Dean complained.

Sam looked at the picture. "See this church?" he asked, gesturing to the drawing. "I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Oh, college boy thinks he's so smart," Dean teased.

Sam laughed slightly. "You know, um…" He trailed off, looking both sad and uncomfortable. "What you both said about mom… you never told me that before." Both Dean and Liz flushed.

"It's no big deal…" Dean mumbled, and then saw the expression on their little brother's face. "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?" he asked with a groan.

"I'd _love_ to see more brotherly love between you two," Liz teased, leaning between them with a grin on her face.

"Aw, shut up," Dean grumbled and shoved her back onto her seat. Liz laughed and settled into her seat, but the smile slid off as she stared out at nothing. _'We never really told him anything, not even me.'

* * *

_

Sam, Liz, and Dean walked up to a white church, just like in Lucas' picture. Dean held up the picture and looked at it, and when he put it down, there was a yellow house just across the street from them.

* * *

Within minutes, Sam, Liz, and Dean were inside the house, and talking with Mrs. Sweeney, an old lady.

"We're sorry to bother you ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance?" Dean asked politely. "He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

"No sir," Mrs. Sweeney answered and tears came to her eyes. "Not for a very long time." She then led them up to her son's bedroom. "Peter's been gone for 35 years now," she explained sadly. "The police never… I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared. Losing him…" She sighed, and Sam noticed that there were a bunch of toy soldiers set out on a table, and he pointed them out to Dean and Liz. "You know, it's… It's worse than dying," she added, unknowingly echoing Bill Carlton.

"Did he disappear from here…? I mean, from this house?" Dean asked.

Mrs. Sweeney shook her head. "He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up," she answered, and then left to the room, the memories getting to her.

Dean went over to the dresser, and pulled a picture off of the mirror; there were two boys in it, one with a red bicycle, and he read from the back of the picture. "Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, 1970."

Bill was still sitting on the bench on the dock, and it seemed like he was talking to the water. "You've taken everything, everyone," he whispered. "I've got nothing left. I didn't understand. I didn't believe. Now I think I do. I think I finally know what you want."

"Okay, this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow," Sam said, putting the puzzle pieces together.

"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean remarked.

Sam nodded. "And Bill… the people he loves… are all getting punished."

Dean frowned, thinking. "So what if Bill did something to Peter?"

"What if Bill killed him?" Sam countered.

"Then Peter's spirit would be furious," said Dean, realizing that they were dealing with a vengeful spirit. "It'd want revenge. It's possible."

"Very possible," Liz agreed, not thrilled at the thought.

* * *

They drove to the Carlton house as fast as they could, but when Sam looked around for Bill, he was no longer on the dock. Or anywhere else they could see, for that matter. "Mister Carlton!"

They heard an engine nearby, and Dean turned around and saw Bill Carlton going out on the lake in his boat. "Hey, check it out."

"We need to get him off the lake," Liz said, fearing the worse. "Now."

The three siblings raced over to the end of the dock and yelled at the man to come back. "Mister Carlton! You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!"

Bill looked back at them and then looked away, just as the water rose up and flipped Mr. Carlton's boat upside-down. Mr. Carlton disappeared into the water as there was a mysterious whispering.

_`"Come play with me."`_

Liz started and looked around. "Did you guys hear that?" and both Sam and Dean nodded. Just _what_ was going on around here?

* * *

Lucas was sitting in a chair, rocking uncomfortably, and Andrea was worried.

"Baby what's wrong?" she asked, wondering what was wrong with her son, and just then, Sam, Dean, Liz, and Jake walked in the door. "Sam, Dean, Liz, I didn't expect to see you three here," she remarked, surprised.

"So now you're on a first-name basis," Jake said, doing his best not to snap, and turned to Andrea. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I brought you dinner," Andrea answered and gave him a paper bag.

Jake sighed, taking the bag. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I don't really have the time."

"I heard about Bill Carlton, is it true?" Andrea asked. "Is something going on with the lake?"

"Right now we don't know what the truth is," Jake admitted. "But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home."

Hearing this, Lucas jumped up, whimpered, and grabbed both Dean and Liz's arms.

"Lucas, hey, what is it?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Are you okay, honey?" Liz asked.

Jake and Andrea both stared. "Lucas."

"Lucas, it's okay. It's okay," Dean said reassuringly as Andrea led Lucas, who kept looking back with a terrified expression on his face, outside.

Jake sighed and led them into his office and had them sit down. "Okay, just so I'm clear, you see… something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer, by the way, into the drink, and you never see him again?" he asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake, and what you're describing is impossible, and you're not really Wildlife Service?" Jake asked and both Dean and Liz were surprised. "That's right, I checked. The department's never heard of you three," he added angrily.

"See, now we can explain that," Dean began.

"Enough please," Jack snapped. "The only reason you're breathing free air, is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. Or we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again."

Sam exchanged a look with Dean and Liz. "Door number two sounds good," he said.

Jake nodded grimly. "That's the one I'd pick."

* * *

It was now nighttime, and Lucas was in his bedroom coloring another black spiral when Andrea walked by his door in a robe and saw him. "Baby… what are you doing up?" she asked. "Come on. Let's go to bed." And she picked him up.

* * *

Dean, Liz, and Sam were almost ready to get on the freeway, and they reached a stoplight where a highway sign said the interstate to Milwaukee was to the left.

"Green," Sam said.

"What?" Dean asked, distracted.

"Light's green," Sam informed him, and Dean turned left. "Uh, the interstate's the other way."

"I know."

* * *

Andrea headed into her bathroom, where she put the plug in her bathtub and turned the water on.

* * *

Sam didn't know what his brother was doing, and this had him worried. "But Dean, this job —I think it's over."

Dean shook his head. "I'm not so sure."

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed," Sam pointed out. "The spirit should be at rest."

Dean sighed. "All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done?" he asked. "You know, what if we missed something? What if more people get hurt?"

"I'm with Dean," Liz agreed, speaking for the first time in almost an hour. "I don't think this is over yet, either."

"But why would you both think that?" Sam asked.

"Because Lucas was really scared," Dean admitted, thinking of how scared the boy was when he was clinging to them.

Sam was surprised. "That's what this is about?" he asked.

"I just don't want to leave town till I know the kid's okay," Dean said honestly.

Sam was amazed. "Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" he asked.

"Shut up," Dean grumbled and Liz laughed.

* * *

The bathtub had filled up most of the way, and Andrea put her hand in to test the water. Finding it to be the right temperature, she took off her robe and got in the water. She leaned back, grabbed a washcloth, and closed her eyes; unknown to her, the water started coming out of the faucet in the same dark brown color as before with Will.

Andrea started washing herself with the washcloth, and when she finally opened her eyes, hearing a strange whispering, she saw that the water has turned brown. She screamed, and tried to get out of the tub, throwing one of her legs over the side, but she was pulled back in.

* * *

Outside the bathroom, Lucas was pounding on the door.

* * *

Andrea's head was pulled under the water, and she struggled to pull herself back out. Finally managing this, she gasped for air, but whatever was in the water pulled her right back under again, and her struggles began anew.

* * *

Sam, Liz, and Dean arrived at the house and slammed out of the Impala.

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked, sounding uncertain as they raced to the front door. "It's pretty late."

Dean shrugged and rang the doorbell, but right as he was pushing it, Lucas flung the door open, panting.

Dean and Liz both immediately reacted. "Lucas? Lucas!" They followed him as he ran back inside and up the stairs, Sam at their heels. Lucas ran to the bathroom door that now had water pouring out from under it, and the whispering was growing even louder.

"Lucas!" Dean shouted as he, Liz, and Sam chased after him. The distraught boy started pounding on the door again, but Dean gently pulled him away and handed him over to Liz. Lucas grabbed onto Liz as Dean kicked in the door.

The moment the door swung open, Sam was running into the bathroom, sticking his arms into the bathtub and grabbing the drowning woman. He groaned as he tried to pull up Andrea, and finally her head emerged, gasping. Her face was shoved back in the water, but Sam kept pulling and grunting until she finally came completely out of the bathtub, and they rolled onto the floor as she started coughing up water.

* * *

A/N: Go, Sam! R&R everyone!


	3. Chapter 3: The Truth

Supernatural: Dead in the Water

A/N: Here's the final chapter, folks! Now classes have started again so there will most likely be longer gaps between postings, which include new stories. If anyone wants to review, then I'll be happy to read them to know what you all think.

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Supernatural_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: THE TRUTH**

The sun was rising over the mountains, and both Dean and Liz were going through some notebooks on bookshelves while Sam and Andrea were sitting on a couch.

"Can you tell me?" Sam asked gently.

"No. It doesn't make any sense," said Andrea, and she started to cry. "I'm going crazy."

"No, you're not," Sam assured her. "Tell me what happened… everything."

"I heard… I thought I heard…" Andrea stammered. "There was this voice."

"What did it say?" Sam asked, confirming that there had been a voice whispering earlier.

"It said… it said 'Come play with me.' What's happening?" Andrea asked, confused and worried for both her and Lucas.

* * *

Meanwhile Dean had pulled out a photo album that said, "Jake–12 years old"; he opened the book and started flipping through, but then he stopped, staring at one of the pictures.

"What is it?" Liz asked him softly before she, too looked at the picture. "Oh."

* * *

Going into the living room with Liz, Dean laid the photo album down in front of Andrea, opened to a page that had pictures of a Boy Scout troop. "Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?" he asked.

"What? Um… Um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there," Andrea answered, pointing to one of the pictures. "He must have been about 12 in these pictures." She moved her finger over to a different picture of her father as a kid, and he was standing right next to Peter Sweeney.

"Chris Bar's drowning — the connection wasn't to Bill Carlton," Dean said, feeling agitated. "It must have been to the sheriff."

"Bill _and_ the sheriff," Sam said slowly, "they were both involved with Peter."

Liz groaned. "Great, just great."

"What about Chris?" Andrea asked, confused again. "My dad… what are you talking about?"

Dean and Liz both noticed Lucas staring out the window. "Lucas? Lucas, what is it?"

"Do you see something Lucas?" Liz asked.

Not even looking at them, Lucas opened the door and walked outside, and they all followed him.

* * *

"Lucas, honey?" Andrea asked as the group followed the boy through the trees.

Lucas stopped on top of a certain patch of moss, and he looked from the ground to Dean and Liz, who stared at him for a moment, and it seemed like something passed between the three of them.

"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Dean instructed Andrea.

Andrea pulled Lucas away, and, after getting some shovels, Dean, Liz, and Sam were soon digging in the spot Lucas stopped at. They dug until there was a thud, and then they got down on their knees and finished digging with their hands until they were pulling out a red bicycle.

Sam stared. "Peter's bike."

"Who are you?" Jake asked, and Dean, Liz, and Sam all turned around to see him standing there aiming a gun at them.

"Put the gun down, Jake," Sam suggested, not making any sudden moves.

"How did you know that was there?" Jake asked, referring to the bike and keeping his gun trained on them.

"What happened?" Dean asked, ignoring the question. "You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. _Nothing_ stays buried."

"And now the ones you care about are dying because of it," Liz added.

* * *

Andrea was watching the scene from the window and saw her father pointing a gun at Sam, Liz, and Dean. Fearing for their safety, she turned to Lucas, who was standing next to her. "Go to your room, sweetie," she ordered. "Now. Lock the door and wait for me. Don't come out." And Lucas ran to his room and she went outside.

* * *

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Jake stated, his posture stiff.

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago," Dean said in a "duh!" kind of way. "That's what the hell I'm talking about."

Andrea ran up just then. "Dad!"

"And now you've got one seriously pissed off spirit," Liz added seriously.

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love," Sam informed them. "It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."

"Yeah, and how do you know that?" Jake asked, skeptical.

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton," Sam added.

"And it'll happen to you if we don't put a stop to it," said Liz.

"Listen to yourselves, all of you," Jake snapped. "You're insane."

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us," Dean retorted. "But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucas was hiding somewhere outside watching this conversation, and he heard a voice.

_`"Come play with me."`_

Lucas started to follow Peter's voice, almost as though he were in a trance.

* * *

"Dad, is any of this true?" Andrea asked.

"No," Jake insisted. "Don't listen to them, they're liars and they're dangerous."

"Something tried to drown me," Andrea informed him. "Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me." And he shifted his eyes over to her. "Tell me you… you didn't kill anyone," she pleaded, and he looked away, breathing heavily. It was answer enough. "Oh my God," Andrea whispered, taking a step backwards and a look of horror on her face.

"Billy and I were at the lake," Jake said after a long moment. "Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time…it got rough." He stared out across the lake, eyes distant as he remembered that day. "We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to, but we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank." He turned to look at his daughter while Dean, Liz, and Sam exchanged grim looks; with no body, it was near to impossible to stop Peter now. "Oh Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea," and his voice turned imploring, "to say that I have _anything_ to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost… it's not rational."

"All right listen to me, all of you," Dean said, getting their attention. "We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now."

Just then, Andrea gasped when she saw Lucas going down to the lake.

"Lucas!" Jake shouted.

They all ran up to the dock where Lucas was reaching his hand over the water, trying to get to a toy like one of the figures.

_`"Come play with me."`_

"Lucas!" Dean shouted.

"Get away from the water, Lucas!" Liz shouted.

"Lucas! Baby, stay where you are!" Andrea cried out.

Just then, a gray hand came up and pulled Lucas into the water. Dean, Liz, Sam, Andrea, and Jake reached the edge of the lake as a pale face emerged from the water. Jake slammed to a halt as he watched Peter's head go back under. Meanwhile, Dean, Liz, and Sam continued to run down to the edge of the dock and jumped off of it, diving into the water.

"Oh my God!" Andrea cried and she started to take off her jacket to jump in too.

Sam resurfaced at that moment and shouted, "Andrea, stay there."

"No, Lucas!" Andrea cried.

"We'll get him just stay on the dock," Sam assured her and he dived under the water again; a few seconds later, Dean and Liz both came up, with Sam coming up shortly after.

"Sam?" Dean asked.

"Anything?" Liz asked, but Sam just shook his head.

"Lucas where are you?" Andrea wept.

Jake started taking off his jacket as Sam, Liz, and Dean all went back under the water, and he waded into the lake.

"Peter, if you can here me," he called out. "Please Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so… I'm so sorry."

Andrea spotted him moving into the lake and cried. "Daddy, no!"

"Peter. Lucas, he's… he's just a little boy," Jake pleaded, moving until his feet were no longer touching the ground. "Please, it's not his fault, it's mine. Please, take me."

Dean, Sam, and Liz all came back up and yelped when they saw Jake in the water. "Jake, no!"

"Get out of the water!"

However, Sam got the feeling that Peter heard the pleas of the sheriff and was coming up from the bottom of the lake.

"Just let it be over!" Jake shouted, and suddenly, he was being dragged down.

"Daddy! Daddy! No!" Andrea screamed.

Dean and Liz both dived down again, Sam following them, but he resurfaced, shaking his head to Andrea. She mouthed the word "no" and looked ready to collapse when both Dean and Liz surfaced, holding Lucas tightly around his waist.

Peter had spared Lucas and Andrea so he could have Jake. It was over.

* * *

After checking out of the motel, Sam, Liz, and Dean went to the car and tossed their bags into the back seat, Sam noting the glum expressions on Liz and Dean's faces. "Look," he said quietly, "we're not gonna save everybody."

"I know," Dean sighed.

"Doesn't make it any easier, Sam," Liz added, dejected.

Just then, Andrea came walking up with Lucas. "Sam, Liz, Dean."

"Hey," said Dean, perking up slightly.

"We're glad we caught you," Andrea said, smiling. "We just um, we made you lunch for the road." And she pointed to the tray Lucas was carrying. "Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself," she added.

"Can I give it to them now?" Lucas asked, getting smiles from Sam, Dean, and Liz, who were glad to hear him talking.

Andrea smiled and kissed Lucas' forehead. "Of course."

Dean chuckled and took the tray. "Come on Lucas, let's load this into the car," he suggested and he, Liz and Lucas went to the car.

"How you holding up?" Sam asked.

"It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?" Andrea admitted.

"Andrea, I'm sorry," Sam apologized.

"You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that," Andrea stated, her smile now sad. "Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that."

* * *

Dean put the sandwiches in the car and then faced Lucas. "All right," he said in a serious voice, "if you're gonna be talking now, this is a _very_ important phrase, so I want you to repeat it one more time."

"Zeppelin rules!" Lucas cheered.

Dean and Liz both laughed. "That's right. Up high." And held their hands up for a high five, which Lucas did easily. "You take care of your mom, okay?"

Lucas nodded. "All right."

Andrea came up and kissed Dean right on the lips. "Thank you."

After thinking on the kiss for a moment, Dean scratched his head and got into the car while Liz giggled. "Sam, Liz, move your asses. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."

Chuckling, both Liz and Sam got in the car, and they smiled as Lucas and Andrea waved goodbye to them. The Impala's engine revved up, and the Winchester's drove away in search of another day, another case, and another chance.

* * *

A/N: And just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water; at least they were able to save Lucas. R&R everyone!


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